nightstreak
Active Member
I've been here all my life and I'm second hand embarrassed for us.
The view to the CN Tower when you get outside the station does make up for it.
wikipedia
I've been here all my life and I'm second hand embarrassed for us.
The view to the CN Tower when you get outside the station does make up for it.
wikipedia
nfitz
Superstar
I always used to sit in the seating area in Toronto before VIA went to reserved seating; I'm of the feeling there was more seats back then. Even back then I didn't see the point of lining up, if you were travelling alone (as many were in the line). It's not like there are really bad seats (and heck, if you board last, you can make sure that the person beside you isn't overflowing into your seat). I'd wait until the line dispersed.
And now with reserved seating? What's the point in standing in the line?
Ditto in Montreal - though there really isn't enough seating there.
nightstreak
Active Member
Don't worry, I don't think they've been in any hurry.
One of the best parts of rail travel is spending time in the hustle and bustle with these big machines coming and going. Toronto rail travellers are robbed of this experience. Perhaps in the future, the VIA Rail concourse will just be a pass through hall on the way up the escalators where you'll wait for your train.
Question for those who take the train often: can anyone go up to the GO Train platforms? Do you need a ticket to be on the platform or only on the trains? I figure that the VIA Rail platform is exclusive to travellers given how guarded the escalators are.
Last edited:
PL1
Senior Member
The GO platforms are fare paid zones. I don't know if there is ever any enforcement prior to getting onto a train
nightstreak
Active Member
ShonTron
Moderator
Technically, all GO platforms are fare-paid zones, so you aren't supposed to be up there, but it's generally not enforced, unlike on trains (the one regular exception are those entering and exiting Exhibition GO before and after special events, where you can be expected to show a ticket or a Presto card/virtual card).
nfitz
Superstar
They've given up on that idiocy at Exhibition, because of the mixing of people between the platforms, and those just crossing through the public walkway.
Even entering the station to go eastbound, during an event, many have to walk through the "fare line" without tapping, because the fare vending machine is on the other side!
Early on, when they were insisting everyone tap when exiting the station (by putting a temporary rope down the middle of the tunnel so that the sides don't mix), people were just crossing under the rope. Heck, I did it myself, because we were packed tight, and the other half of the tunnel was less crowded. And then I had to find where to tap off! Also early on, some people were tapping off on the regular points, as they entered the stairs on the north platform - then on the south they insisted people tap again anyhow. They said it didn't matter if you tapped twice. But for some reason, it started another trip anyhow ... perhaps because how absurdly long it took to get from the first tap-out to the second, with them sabotaging the tunnel.
I saw than one major Health and Safety violation during that fiasco.
WB62
Senior Member
Theres gonna be changes in all 3 existing concourses and the teamways. For VIA specially, the existing platform 20-21 entrances in the VIA Concourse will be replaced with much wider entrances, likely eating up the alcove spaces around it.Besides this South Concourse, the video above talks about how after the new south platforms are done, the existing platforms are going to be reorganized, in which case the VIA Rail platorms may be widened which will affect the escalators into the VIA Rail concourse, So yeah, probably more coming or I'm just trying to be optimistic cuz this place sucks
I seriously believe ALTO is just going to dive under Union to a new lower concourse and platform level, fully separating ALTO ops to the east of Union (and potentially the west if it also goes to Pearson). Both a lower level and service to Pearson were proposed at one point.
CapitalSeven
Senior Member
There are rough plans in existence for a GO level below the existing station. I think that makes more sense than thinking of putting VIA there.
rbt
Senior Member
Thanks. Can you "untap"? Asking for a friend who isn't going anywhere but likes to look at trains.
Yes. The payment machines at GO stations have a "Correction" or "Cancel" button. Press that then tap; it backs out the previous tap within the same station.
I've backed-out my fare payment due to cancelled trains.
Last edited:
Dan416
Senior Member
I’ve never had my fare checked on the platforms at Union. Hell I rarely get fare checked period. They did check on platform at Cooksville once. But Union is way too chaotic for that.
T3G
Senior Member
Anyone who wants to look at trains would do better than to utilize the platforms at Union - they are cramped, chaotic, and dark. A much better trainspotting experience can be had by standing by the vantage points offered just west of the station, such as at the west end of the Skywalk at the foot of the CN Tower, the sidewalk on Spadina Avenue and Bathurst Street over the rail lands, or the pedestrian walkway along Iceboat Terrace. If you are not taking photos and merely want to see, the pedestrian bridge over the tracks is also good.Thanks. Can you "untap"? Asking for a friend who isn't going anywhere but likes to look at trains.
Woodbridge_Heights
Senior Member
No one is physically checking you for a paid fare on or heading in to the GO platforms. Transit police will occasionally be on the train to check for proper fare but you 'can' be on a GO platform without paying a GO fare.
The other element is that I seem to recall that security is protective of the platform area at Union for whatever reason. For example during a doors open Toronto tour of the station we were told that photographs were prohibited from the platform level. Though that was about 2 decades ago so it may have changed now. That being said, if you are on the platforms at Union and just looking around you may attract the attention of security who might approach and question you.
In hind sight I wonder if it would have made more sense to build a VIA concourse above the tracks (instead of the crystal cube), with a lounge overlooking the tracks for waiting passengers. This would have made pathing through the lower levels of Union easier.
Mihairokov
Active Member
My implication was that they would be harder to clean due to the people hanging around Union all day, typically in the sparse seating available in the Great Hall. Airports have security which prevent this and only allow for paying customers to enter.
I've been told by VIA staff in the past that for specific trains there are specific alcoves available for those priority boarding. Like I said though, there are easy ways around this (like just sitting down anywhere you want).
I saw an old photo of Great Hall recently and it seems like it's never been used for a lot of seating:
I'm happy to be optimistic but work of this scale leads me to think there'll be a half-decade of construction work for middling results, but i'll try my best to remain optimistic.
reinventingthewheel
Active Member
Passed by Bridgepoint hospital and noticed their much more palatable solution to pedestrian safety.
First photo from today and the second from Apple Maps:
Notable features:
First photo from today and the second from Apple Maps:
Notable features:
- Built in lighting
- Appropriately sized and spaced for passage
- Tactile strips in gaps